A three-day Eid Ceasefire Agreement in June 2018 allowed the Afghan National Security Forces and the Afghan Taliban to pray and celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr together. The Eid-truce has revived modest hopes of jumpstarting the on-off peace process.

The killing of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Mullah Fazlullah in a US drone strike in Afghanistan is a major blow to the terror group. Fazlullah’s killing will further undermine TTP’s organizational coherence, possibly paving way for more defections.

Afghanistan is one country where both India and China are investing their resources and reputations. However, unlike other countries and matters on which they compete and diverge, Afghanistan is being imagined as a possible theater of cooperation between the two.

Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli concluded his six-day official visit to China on June 24, 2018. A total of eight MoUs were signed in the areas of hydropower generation, manufacturing, river training and agriculture.

On March 22, 2018, Air India made a historical flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv, flying straight over Saudi Arabian airspace. Besides hinting at the covert warming of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the flights testify to India’s growing diplomatic clout in the Middle East.

Iran shares a close economic relationship with China. Trade between both countries was estimated at USD 37 billion for the year 2017. India too has high stakes in Iran. Apart from investing in Chabahar Port, it has significantly increased its oil imports from Iran.

Bangladesh’s space age has begun with the successful launch of the Bangabandhu-1 satellite into orbit on May 11, 2018, making it one of the 57 nations having its own satellite. The future space-based Bangladesh may face mixed experiences.

In the context of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, there are a few approaches that can be adopted to rejuvenate the sense of a common identity within the sub-region.